On the first day of her life, she was dumped in the trash.Her story of abandonment helped create a state program that provides a safe alternative for unwanted newborns, a haven where scared mothers can drop off their babies.

But for Esperanza Reyes, that narrative was never her own. The young woman who started life as Baby Hope, a name given to her by hospital workers, did not know abandonment. She knew only familial love and acceptance.

The girl was about 3 hours old when paramedics found her May 7, 1991. It was trash day. Neighbors had stuck their barrels out along 30th Avenue in southwest Phoenix for curbside pickup, one of the few services this part of the city seemed to get. The sidewalks were dirt. There were no nearby parks. It appeared this clump of unkempt homes was left to fend for itself.

It was an unusually hot week for early May. The afternoon temperature would hit 99 degrees, but at 5 a.m., it was a comfortable 70 degrees.

Roy Grammer was on his way to his job as a carpenter for the city of Phoenix. As he pulled out of his driveway, he saw a man motioning frantically toward a barrel.

"I thought, 'I need to go over there,' " he said.

The baby was buried under 18 inches of trash but was crying loudlyenough to be heard.Go read the entire story. via LaShawn Barber on Facebook